Make Drysuit From Wetsuit

[Jasper]

I'm looking for opinions on making a drysuit mostly from a wetsuit. I have an old drysuit that doesn't fit me well and no one seems interested in buying it so I have functional inflator, exhaust, zipper, and boots. Possibly could remove/reuse the neck and wrist seals too.

I see a new, cheap 3mm wetsuit that appears to be close to size - my height is in range and the other measures are a few inches large. So any comments on a plan like this:

remove the wetsuit zipper, glue / seam tape the edges closed
cut for and glue in the zipper, inflator, exhaust
glue on wrist seals
trim and glue on the boots

I think I could get a drysuit that fits me well for <$150 this way. I realize the uncompressed neoprene will compress with depth and I'll lose a small amount of insulation. But I can compensate with undies.

I'm more concerned with:
will the 3mm wetsuit neoprene be watertight? or is that thickness prone to tiny leaks?
will the seams be watertight or should I plan on seam taping every one of them?
my tendency to envision a project beautifully but end up with a pile of crap
all the other things I haven't listed.....

Thanks!

 

[divad]

I'm more concerned with:
my tendency to envision a project beautifully but end up with a pile of crap

LOL....are you answering your own question?

 

[runsongas]

3mm wetsuits usually don't have the same watertight seams that you see in 7mm+ cold water suits. you might have to spend effort liquid sealing the seams and possibly blindstitching to reinforce them. not sure neoprene tape would be enough.

 

[Jasper]

Thanks for the good input on the 3mm seams. Do you think 5mm seams are more like 7mm or in between?

I also have an old, oversize 7mm sleeveless shorty I was thinking of using. I see a couple places I could buy the neoprene fabric to make my own sleeves and legs. But the price for pretty small pieces is still in the $70 range. Anyone know of other sources than Rockywoods?

It seems to me the thicker neoprene is easier to butt glue which would be a help.

 

[decompression]

I don't think the seams would work on any thickness wetsuit unless you sealed them yourself. It could be a fun Frankenstein project though if you keep in mind it could very well be "a learning experience" other than a functional drysuit.

 

[Kairoos]

What about having the drysuit altered? In what way doesn't it fit you anymore?

 

[lowviz]

I'm looking for opinions on making a drysuit mostly from a wetsuit....//... remove the wetsuit zipper, glue / seam tape the edges closed
cut for and glue in the zipper, ...//...

:snicker:

So, you are going to re-invent the "Everdry"?

More power to you. Likely it will work to a fair degree. Forget the "dry" part, but if you are willing to proceed, I know someone who will do the zipper and tailoring properly and you will have a "legendary" suit at a reasonable cost. PM me.

Are you committed or just involved in this project? The Chicken and the Pig - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Jasper]

Thanks guys. I had considered alterations - Mark at Superior did a great job altering my dui cf200 but the older suit is too big in every diameter (torso, legs) so I think it would cost more than I want to invest in that suit. I'd go to him if I was going to pay someone else.

I'm probably less invested than the chicken but if I can't get someone to pay something for the old suit I might just try this. Honestly part of the appeal is making something unique. My buddies first mocked but now covet my DIY backplate from a poly cutting board...

 

[Stoo]

There are so many drysuits out there that fail in their primary purpose (keeping you dry), that you will be in good company. When I think of the failure rates of even the most popular brand of high-end drysuits, I suspect that the odds of this working are about zilch.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I always liked good fitting neoprene drysuits. Unfortunately way too many people associated neoprene drysuits with suits like the old Poseidon Unisuit, which was bulky and had the dump valve on the chest, requiring a lot of weight and making the suit hard to dump.

I've had 7mm and 5mm/7mm neoprene dry suits form both Comox and O'Neil and I liked all of them. They were warm, dry, not nearly as prone to suit squeeze as a trilam suit and they swam like a wetsuit, with no issues with feet up positioning and none of the drag that comes with wrinkles in a trilam suit. And, in the event you did get a hole in one, you just had a very efficient and very warm semi-dry suit.

The only real downsides of neoprene dry suit are finding a pin hole leak took a little more effort, the suit weighs a it more and is bulkier for travel, and the suit takes longer to dry.

I currently have a Scubapro Nova Scotia. It's a 6.5mm semidry with a T-Zip dry suit zipper and neoprene wrist, neck and ankle seals. The neoprene seals are not quite a thick or as tight as they need to be to be truly effective seals and the neck seal in particular allows some water to enter. However, I added a P valve to it as it still does't have nearly enough flow to flush the suit. I also briefly considered adding a dump valve as the suit had a habit of trapping air and needing more weight, but pulling the neck seal away from my neck to burp the air out of the suit a couple times after getting in the water works fine.

I spoke with a Canadian diver a couple weeks ago who indicated he added latex neck and wrist seals to his, leaving the ankle seals to allow some water to enter to avoid a squeeze. That suggests he leaves the extra air in the suit at the start of the dive.

If I dove in substantially colder water (40 degrees or less) I might consider doing something similar, although I think I'd stay with neoprene drysuit neck and neck seals instead of latex, and if I went that far, I'd probably just add dry socks and valves and go all the way dry.

In fact, after realizing how close to dry it was after the first few dives, I also briefly considered the possibility of adding dry suit seals, dry socks or boots and inflation and dump valves to create a neoprene dry suit. It's within the realm of the practical given how the Nova Scotia is made, but I just don't dive that much in cold water anymore and the Nova Scotia is near perfect as is, for long 3-4 hour dives dives in 60-70 degree water on a rebreather.

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As for converting a 3mm wet suit to a dry suit, I don't think that's all that viable. 3mm doesn't provide much neoprene at the seams to create an effective seal. At a minimum you'd also need to tape all the seams internally. 5mm, 6.5mm and 7mm suits offer a better option as well as more insulation. One major advantage of the neoprene suit is that the shell has insulating value so the undergarments can be very minimal - often just a wicking layer, and you don't get condensation on the inner surface of the shell like you do with a trilam suit. However with a 3mm uncompressed neoprene suit you won't be getting much insulation and you'd need a fairly baggy suit to accommodate the undergarments. That defeats the purpose of an uncompressed neoprene suit.

Quality also matters as neoprene dry suit seams need to be glued and then blind stitched on each side, so the neoprene is glued together while the nylon or lycra fabric on each side is sewn together for strength, without poking holes through the neoprene. That costs more to do and not all companies sew their wet suits that way.

Adding the valves to the suit will also require not just getting the valves, but also getting the rubber flanges to glue to the suit to prevent leaks around the valves.